


Places

by luvsanime02



Series: Whumptober 2018 [9]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Introspection, Language, Whump, Whumptober 2018, World War II Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 13:39:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16242755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvsanime02/pseuds/luvsanime02
Summary: Bucky has to remind himself that things could always be worse.





	Places

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the October 9th Whumptober prompt: stranded.

**Disclaimer:** I don’t own Marvel comics or characters or movies, and am making no money off of this fic.

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**Places** by luvsanime02

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There are worse places to be, Bucky tells himself. Really, in the grand scheme of things, there are much worse places that he could be than stranded behind enemy lines. He could be at home, waiting anxiously for news from the front, for news from Steve, and feeling worse than useless. He could be back at the base, and Steve could be the one out here instead. Steve could be the one who is stranded, and Bucky would rather deal with anything other than trying to decide if it’s more important to him to follow orders or save Steve.

He could be in a coffin, like so many others, and already being shipped back to his family. He could leave Steve all alone to explain to Becca what happened to him.

Bucky really needs to worry about himself right now, and not Steve, who’s probably fine. Who is more fine now than he’s ever been before in his whole life. More healthy. More of a hero on the outside now, too, shining brightly. Steve doesn’t need Bucky anymore, not really. Not in the same way that he did before.

Is that why they became friends in the first place? Bucky doesn’t know, and doesn’t ask. It’s a moot point now, anyway.

Still, the thing is, so what if Bucky has to hide and flee, and try desperately to get back to his own side before he’s found? So what if he doesn’t have any food, and little water, and no money of the local kind, and nothing to barter with? He’s had worse. His whole life has been steadily getting worse, really. This is just the latest hurdle that he’s had to overcome.

Bucky is so tired of there always being another hurdle to overcome, though. He sounds like a little kid whining about the unfairness of life, but Bucky has never felt less like a kid in his whole damn life. Still, things could always be worse. He just has to keep on reminding himself of that.

Bucky could be the one who’s fine, and Steve could be the one going home in a box. Bucky dreams about that, sometimes. More than anything else, these days. Steve has always acted like he’s invincible, but now, the government is paying him to behave like he is. To be their hero, to charge into battles fearlessly, and Bucky has never been so afraid for Steve’s life as he is now. He’s never so clearly before imagined the way that his best friend might someday die, but now Bucky can’t see anything other than Steve being killed tragically in this war, and he  _ hates  _ it.

More than anything else, even more than wishing that he was safe and back at base once again, Bucky wishes that Steve had never had the option of joining this war.

Wishes don’t mean anything, though, but it’s all that Bucky has left. He continues walking, and doesn’t even know what he’s trying so hard to return for, and finally admits to himself that he just wants to see Steve smile at him again like he used to when they were kids.

Bucky and Steve haven’t been kids for a long time now, though.


End file.
